big mess; i.e. clusterfuck. In many rodeos, there is often a calf scramble competition, where a herd of calves and a larger horde of teenagers are let loose in a ring. The teens try to catch, halter, and coax the calf into an area in the ring. Catching a calf usually wins you money towards the purchase of an animal to raise and return to the next year's stock show.

Joan: How's the P&G project?
Tom: We don't have data, the analysts are on vacation, and the client wants to move up the deadline. It's a total calf scramble right now.